5 February 2014: Wednesday ... found the other iPad charger in the living room at the end of the couch (it'd been weeks lost) ... visits from Skeesha and Beth today from Delaware Hospice ... great BodyPump w/Carla (who scowled at the sound system to get it to work) ...

LOST AND FOUND: Sometimes they just show up because you run into them again. Such was the case with my iPhone and iPad charger, which I had two of and then managed to misplace one of them and consequently, had to charge each item separately. There is something greater in significance to finding something that you've given up on for lost. There is the immediate relief and joy at finding it, but why did you give up on it in the first place. Was there no search process that covered all the bases, thoroughly? Well, when I saw the charger on the arm of the sofa under the Ubeda painting in the living room, closest to the lamp, I thought: It's been there for weeks and I have not noticed it. What is the reason it stayed there for weeks, lost in my estimation? Did I not water the plant my father treasured, a gift from Sydney Steele, did I not vacuum or dust? Obviously not, for there it was, unperturbed, untouched for days upon days. Will I learn from this? Probably not, I haven't in the past, and at the present time, the same urgings and desires run through me that are purposeless and hurtful. Discipline is not for the squeamish.

MOM SAYS I'M NOT FEELING WELL: That is often the refrain from mom when I inform her that Skeesha Johnson is coming. Well, I pooh-pooh it because she gets well, quickly, and enjoys the attention and the conversation with her Delaware Hospice contingent as was the case today in spades. The delightful young mother and CNA, born in Jamaica (?) or at least has a Jamaican father, who died recently and she went to the island nation for his interment, does her work with joy and competence. Mom just adores her and Skeesha seems to like mom, too. It's a nice pairing.

Later, Beth Kincaid, RN, showed up and we worked to clear up the medicine needs. We are short of Xanax, Tamazepam, and Hydrocodone, all essential to the well-being of mom, especially the anti-anxiety drug Alprazolam, which she did without this evening because the drug order did not arrive as Beth estimated (it came the next day, first the hydrocodone and then, still waiting at 1:34 p.m., the Xanax and Tamazepam), but she is a careful and deliberative health care provider and has mom's best interests at heart.

GREAT BODYPUMP WITH CARLA: One of only two men in the class, Carla, our instructor, feisty and fit and enthusiastic, really put together a great workout. She had some difficulty with the sound system and seemed to rustle it into order by looking up at the speaker in the ceiling and scowling as she pressed the buttons to start the bouncy, hip-hop music. One of the participants, Diana, a young mother with two pre-teen daughters, remembered my name from the yoga class yesterday where our instructor, Christine, led us into a circle and played a naming game. It worked for her. I remembered that there was some slight confusion over her name as she was initially called Diane instead of Diana. Regardless, it was a delightful interchange. She is a EMT studying to be a nurse now that her children are both in class. I asked where she knew Kristen, who works at the front desk of "Y" and is also studying to be an RN at Del Tech, where she is going. She did not recognized the name but was impressed that she was set to graduate in May. Believe she has just started the program, perhaps.

7 November 2013: Thursday ... Dad up early, bed made, says he hasn't sleeped and he's concerned about the check and his prescriptions ... we go online to see his account ...

Dad reads some of the mail from a previous day on Wednesday, 6 November 2013. He had some swelling from the SVC (Superior Vena Cava) Syndrome and some hand swelling. Dr. Grubbs has prescribed prednisone but he didn't start taking it until he'd had something to eat that evening (two Holland rusk with liverwurst and some milk) -- two tablets, 10 mg each, for a dose of 20 mg (the pharmacy did not have 20 mg tablets in stock). His oncologist also thinks that collateral circulation will resolve the swelling for the most part.

My short blog post respected the privacy of my father yet expressed my immense sense of privilege at caring for him -- shaving him and helping him shower: 
"Parent care for me entered a privileged status this morning. Details unnecessary, but suffice it to say, I am honored by the trust given to me by my dear father. There is none greater or more meaningful."

Dad had me call Walmart Pharmacy to check on these strips.
They do not sell them; however, Amazon does and this one sells for $23.42. 
Ordered the above from Meditech and will arrive in 6 or so days. Dad is amazed.

Dad is having a good day. He called to cancel an invitation. He's answered some queries in his mail and most important of all, he has turned up the volume on Wagner and Toscanini. We received, amazingly, the drugs and emergency kit for dad from Delaware Hospice. Boy, they are on the money and prompt. Just amazing. We have the info -- STAPLED, thanks to my repair (need the right-sized staples in the stapler) -- is secured together and in the folder under this desk. He has also phoned and left a message for Dr. Maged.

Made an important trip to Dr. Maged's office, first, to get the prescriptions, garnered through dad's call to his office and later return phone call, which he answered; and then back home to collect a Lantus coupon (that proved worthless but I didn't know) and then onto Walmart to hand over the scripts and then wait and shop for about 45 minutes and then get assaulted by the cost, over $400, which is primarily the Lantus which goes for about $190 per vial (two were on the script) and Plavix at close to $90. Well, the wait was worth it and now he has the needed medication.

Another important trip, indicative of the change that is occurring was the deposit, via the ATM, of dad's insurance check from his savings about $1100, which he normally took to Greenville to cash into many $20 bills. We added up the money on hand in the house and we have about $1500, so I deposited it into the account. Added to that check was Arthur's final check to me, the amount left over after the repairs were made to the rental property -- $140.00 -- and dad was so unsure and angry at me using an ATM and not using the teller. I had to show him online that the amount is in the bank and being ok'ed for final addition to the account.

After the bank trip, the sky opened up and the earth chilled as a cold front moved in. The day was beautiful at Bark Park and I took Dancer there and got excited with the colors and sent two pics to Facebook of the lake (which was just said, the word "lake", during the interview with an atheistic Jew, Richard Rodriguez, on the NewsHour and Jeffrey Brown). At the end of the walk, Gail Emerson called and then I got a call from mom from her cell (I need my coumadin ... I said give me 15 minutes). Called Gail back and then saw that Dancer was inside a fenced area and had to close the call, again. Got inside the fenced area and collected Dancer, called Gail back and learned that she might be in the area tomorrow and will give a call if she can come over. Earlier, needing a Dancer photo she climbed up on me and I got a close photo of her eyes, intently looking at me.


 

   

The day is concluded as I help, with dad's request, with the making of his bed. Pulling the blanket over and tucking in the excess, with dad's insistence, at the end of the bed and the puffing up the pillow. Dancer is resting on the floor as the TV plays with no sound on WHYY, Channel 12. The NewsHour has just concluded. And so has this post. It has been an inspiring, meaningful and long day.